When Tony Met Ginny
by SilverHeart09
Summary: Tony Stark and Virginia Potts met as teenagers, but a tragic accident caused them to forget about each other. Pepperony, please review!
1. Sending Each Other Flying

_From lines in the movie and internet sites (yes I really am that sad) I'm assuming that when Tony first creates the Iron Man armour he is 37, making his year of birth 1972. I also know that Pepper is much younger than Tony but in this story she's only 2 years younger. _

_Btw- Ginny is short for Virginia, so it's Pepper._

_Please review!_

When Pepper Potts first stared working for Tony Stark (after an incident involving numbers that hadn't been counted properly and pepper spray) she wasn't sure what she was getting herself into. Everyone knew his reputation for being a womanizing playboy with no care for anything, but to Pepper he was a challenge, a challenge to give her experience. And besides, when you have 'worked as a PA for Tony Stark' on your CV there isn't a job in the world you can't get.

But, unbeknownst to both Pepper and Tony, they'd met each other before during a school trip to Stark Industries.

_16__th__ July 1989, 09:13am (Tony is 17, Pepper is 15)_

Ginny Potts pulled her rucksack onto her back and gazed up at the large building in front of her. It was huge, all glass and shiny metal with the 20ft sign reading 'Stark Industries' printed on the side.

Ginny joined the rest of her classmates as they trudged up the steps into the building, where they were met by one of the secretaries of Stark Industries, a black-haired women in heels and a smart suit. She shook the hand of the teacher and smiled at the group of 30 children.

'Welcome to Stark Industries,' she said. 'My name is Amanda Missoti, please step this way and I'll give you the grand tour, we should be finished by 2 o'clock.'

Ginny and her classmates followed Amanda up into the heart of the building, gasping at the shear size of the place.

They first stopped at the Arc Reaktor and many of the classmates gasped in astonishment, including Ginny.

'This is the Arc Reaktor, it was developed by the CEO of this company Howard Stark and the CFO Obadiah Stane as a means of saving energy. Howard's son Anthony managed to enhance the energy output using…' she paused. 'I actually don't know, I leave all the engineering genius to the Stark's.'

'Will we be seeing Tony Stark?' Gena Hayward asked. Many girls giggled and Ginny rolled her eyes. Gena was a blond with a huge chest and a slim waist who fancied herself in with a chance of dating Tony.

Amanda smiled; clearly she was used to this. 'I don't make it my business to know where Tony is.'

Gena blushed and looked at her shoes.

Amanda clapped her hands together. 'Next?'

Ginny followed her into a further 7 rooms and departments, where engineers and designers and accountants stopped and waved and offered information when asked.

However, the building was huge and it didn't take long for Ginny to get lost. Rounding a corner she soon realised that her classmates weren't there. She turned round and went back down the stairs, but they weren't there either. Ginny stumbled around the corners until she found herself in an almost deserted section of Stark Industries. In front of her were doors where the sound of cutting machinery drifted through.

Panicking, Ginny turned back round and collided head-on with a dark haired boy coming the other way, sending them both flying and crashing on the floor, the objects that had previously been in the boy's arms went skidding off into the distance.

'Oh I'm so sorry!' Ginny said, standing up quickly and gathering up some of the boy's fallen objects, staring at them as she did so. They were strips of metal, screwdrivers, screws, general engineering objects.

'No, it's fine, let me' the boy said, grabbing the nearest parts that were around him and standing up.

Ginny stared at him. He was ridiculously good-looking. He looked around 17 or 18 and his hair was a dark brown, almost black, and his eyes were the same colour as chocolate. The boy smiled and Ginny found herself smiling back involuntarily.

'Um… I'm Ginny,' Ginny stammered.

'Nice to meet you Ginny. Here, I'll take these,' the boy said, taking the objects out of Ginny's arms. 'Back in a sec.'

The boy opened the nearest door and threw the objects in before turning back to her.

'So let me guess, you're part of the school group that came this morning and you've got lost?'

Ginny blushed to the roots of her strawberry-blond hair. 'Pretty much, yeah,' she mumbled.

The boy grinned. 'It's not hard is it?' he said. 'Follow me; I'll take you back to your group.'

Ginny followed the boy up two flights of stairs and along endless corridors, neither of them said anything.

The boy stopped in front of a door and stuck his head round it. 'You're in here,' he said stepping back.

Ginny stepped into the room; her class did not even seem to have noticed that she was gone.

Ginny stood next to a small mousy haired girl named Kathleen. 'Where have you been?' Kathleen asked.

Ginny looked up and the tall, largely built man in front of her. 'Who's he?' she asked.

Kathleen rolled her eyes, 'oh, I don't know, it's only the CEO of Stark Industries. That's Howard Stark, Ginny!'

Ginny looked back at the door. The boy winked at her, and then he was gone.


	2. Broken Memories

_I know I said that this story was finished but I had this idea when doing a sources question in History. I'm not sure why I was thinking about this story when I was meant to be thinking about Hitler but never mind, so I'm taking __Elisabpshady and XxThe Best Damn ThingxX's advice and writing another chapter._

_So you can blame them._

_:)_

_I may continue it, it depends._

_Please review!_

_And yes, I know that Tony isn't only 2 years older than Pepper but in this story he is._

_And Tony didn't nickname Pepper 'Pepper' until much later which is why she's Ginny is this story._

Tony Stark downed his 3rd tequila of the evening. No-one recognised the 18 year old dark haired boy sat at the corner of the bar.

Tony's phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out he realised it was James Rhodes, and for a moment he considered talking to him, but then he remembered that when he'd needed Rhodey most, he hadn't been there. His intoxicated mind didn't consider that the reason Rhodey hadn't been there when his parents died was because Rhodey had been spending Christmas in Atlanta whereas Tony had been in Phoenix taking part in the Junior Scientist of the year competition. He'd won, but that victory had been bitter sweet when he'd heard that his parents were dead.

Tony replaced his phone and turned his head towards the door as it opened.

Two girls stepped in, one red-head and one blonde, both laughing and talking with each other.

The red-head looked vaguely familiar but Tony couldn't place where he'd seen her. The blonde was all chest and legs whereas the red-head was skinny and graceful, her long hair flying over her shoulders.

Once upon a time, Tony would have gone over there to speak to the girls, but he didn't have the energy or any reason. There was no denying that they were certainly beautiful, but he'd lost all incentive.

* * *

16 year old Virginia Potts stepped into the bar with her friend Georgia Beauti. The bar was full of people talking and the jazz band playing in the corner.

Ginny led Georgia over to a table in front of the band. Georgia waved at the keyboard player, who grinned and waved back.

'Georgia!' Ginny said, laughing.

'What? He's hot, Ginny, live while you can,' Georgia replied, flicking back her short blond hair.

While Georgia went to get drinks Ginny looked around at the people sat in the bar. There were lots of girls with dates and people swaying and dancing to the music, virtually everyone had a partner, except…

Ginny's eyes were drawn to the solitary boy in the corner, looking down into his empty glass. His hair had fallen into his eyes so Ginny couldn't see his face very well, but he looked familiar…

* * *

Tony gave up trying to recognise the red-head and looked back at his glass, considering getting another, and then he felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of his neck.

Tony looked up, straight into the blue eyes of the red-head and a name automatically came to his mind.

_Ginny._

* * *

_I ran into him, at Stark Industries that time… I sent him flying…_

Ginny stared at the boy, now he'd looked up there was no mistaking his chocolate brown eyes.

The boy opened his mouth like he was going to say something to her but then Georgia appeared in front of her with their drinks.

'Diet coke, like you wanted, don't know why you chose diet though I mean seriously, Ginny, you should try branching out!'

Ginny looked behind her friend at the brown haired boy, but he'd gone.

'Wait here, I'll be straight back!' Ginny said, turning and sprinting out the door into the street outside.

The boy was sat on a bench in the park opposite, head in his hands.

Ginny cautiously went over to him and he looked up as she approached.

'Hey,' he said softly. 'Ginny, isn't it?'

Ginny nodded and looked at the space next to him. 'Mind if I join you?' she asked.

'No, course not' the boy said, gazing out over the park.

'So…' Ginny said sitting down, 'what's your name?'

The boy grinned. 'You don't recognise me? Good, I'd rather keep it that way.'

Ginny looked at him surprised. 'Should I recognise you?'

The boy shrugged. 'Maybe, it depends on whether or not you watch the news.'

A silver car pulled up on the opposite side of the street and the boy looked over at it. 'That's my ride,' he held his hand out to Ginny.

'It was nice meeting you, Ginny.'

Ginny shook his hand and watched him jog over to the car before turning and walking back into the bar.


	3. Enthusiastic Robots

_I HAD to write this idea down!_

_Enjoy :) (and then review)_

Ginny stepped into her house, closing the door softly behind her. She could hear her parents talking in the living room and the sound of the TV. Ginny stepped into the kitchen, tiptoeing past the living room. The newspaper on the table was that day's paper, but Ginny wasn't really sure what she was looking for.

'_Maybe, it depends on whether or not you watch the news.'_

Ginny flicked through the pages until a large headline caught her eye.

'**FUNERAL OF HOWARD AND MARIA STARK'**

Ginny knew that the Howard and Maria had died; it had been all over the school the day after it happened. Ginny skimmed through the page until she came to a photo at the bottom, a picture of a young dark haired woman and a large man with a young boy in front of them.

Dark hair, dark eyes.

It was him.

'_Maybe, it depends on whether or not you watch the news.'_

Ginny read the caption accompanying the picture.

'_Howard and Maria Stark with son Tony.'_

Anthony Edward Stark.

'Sad story that,' a voice came from behind her, making her jump.

Ginny turned round to see her father stood behind her, a cup of coffee in his hand. 'Poor boy, he's only 18 as well, bad age to lose your parents.'

Ginny turned her eyes back to Tony Stark; it was definitely the same boy that she'd spoken to.

_It would explain why he was at Stark Industries that time as well, _she realised.

'Who's taking care of the company?' Ginny asked.

Her father turned the page over. 'Him,' he said, pointing at a picture of a strongly built bald man with a beard. 'Obadiah Stane, he's a friend of the Stark's, but there's a rumour going around that Tony Stark could be the CEO of Stark Industries once he turns 21. He's certainly smart enough! Graduated MITsumma cum laude. No easy fete that.'

Ginny shuddered at the picture of the bald man; he freaked her out slightly and turned back to the previous page, with Tony and his parents on it.

'Since when were you so interested?' her father asked, suddenly suspicious.

Ginny shrugged. 'No reason, I just like to know these things.'

Her father raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, simply taking a beer out of the fridge. 'Did you have fun this evening?'

'Yes, I did, thank you.' Ginny replied. She picked up the paper, 'do you mind if I take this?'

Her father shrugged. 'Go ahead. I'm not gonna read it again.'

* * *

The next day, Ginny caught a coach with Georgia to Long Island in New York, were they'd been invited to spend a weekend with a friend called Molly Lau and her family.

The coach was packed and hot. It was full of people talking.

Ginny looked out the window at the sky outside, and suddenly a house appeared in front of them, gradually rising up out of the distance.

It was huge. Calling it a mansion wouldn't be enough; this house took it to the next level.

The coach, which had been full of about 90 people talking, suddenly went quiet.

Ginny craned her neck round. Everyone had now started whispering and pointing at the house.

'Who lives there?' Ginny asked Georgia.

'That's where the Stark's lived,' Georgia whispered.

Just then, the engine spluttered and the coach stopped moving.

The coach driver slapped the wheel in frustration. With the air conditioning unit not giving out the cool air (which there hadn't been much of to start with) the coach got hotter and hotter until it became unbearable and the passengers stepped off muttering.

Ginny and Georgia followed them off, the sun bearing down on them. Ginny straightened her skirt and pulled her sunglasses on.

The driver opened the engine cover and thick, black smoke billowed out in large gusts.

The driver swore as he waved the smoke away.

'The engine in completely gone,' he said. 'I'll have to call for help from somewhere.'

All eyes turned to the house, which was now about half a mile in the distance.

The driver sighed, 'I've got no other choice, I'll have to go see if anyone's home.'

He tugged off his jacket, grabbed his ID and hat, and started off in the direction of the house.

Ginny watched him go, and a sudden urge to see Tony again filled her.

'Wait!' she called. The driver turned round and suddenly all eyes were on her. 'I'll come too,' Ginny said hesitantly. 'Tony Stark knows me.'

'What?' Georgia said, staring at her. 'Since when has he known you?'

'Since that field trip to Stark Industries last year,' Ginny said. 'I got lost and he showed me the way back, then I saw him again at that bar yesterday.'

Georgia gaped at her friend, but Ginny simply looked the driver straight in the eyes.

'Well…' the driver said, swallowing. 'If you wouldn't object to going on your own, because legally I'm not supposed to leave the coach unattended.'

Ginny straightened her sunglasses. 'That's fine,' she said. 'I'll be back with help.'

Georgia stared at her and Ginny, butterflies in her stomach, walked past everyone towards the house.

The air was hotter outside than it had been on the coach and by the time Ginny finally arrived at the gates of the house, she was fairly certain that she had a red nose.

Ginny consulted the large black gates barring her way. There was a keypad on the post next to it and an intercom button. Ginny pressed it and a man's voice answered. 'Stark residence, can I help you?'

Ginny swallowed. 'Um, yes. My name is Virginia Potts, I was on a coach further up the road but it's broken down, the engine is ruined. I was wondering if anyone could help. Or if I could borrow a phone'

'Why isn't the driver of this coach asking for assistance?'

'He isn't allowed to leave the coach, and I volunteered because… I know Tony Stark.'

'You do?'

'Yes, I've met him twice.'

There was a pause, during which Ginny considered running away. And then a smaller door next to the gate buzzed and the man's voice spoke again.

'Come on through.'

Ginny stepped through the door and into the foyer of the house. A large grand staircase circled the room and there was a piano in a corner under a large window.

An old man wearing a black suit and a kind expression appeared in front of her and shook her hand.

'My name is Edwin Jarvis; I'm the Stark's butler. Wait here, I'll fetch Master Tony for you, unfortunately I don't have the Stark genius when it comes to fixing things.'

Ginny smiled gratefully. 'Thank you,' she said. 'I appreciate it.'

The old butler moved away and Ginny studied the foyer, it was about the same size as a football pitch cut in half.

Ginny stepped over to the piano and ran her fingers over the keys. There was some music on the stand and Ginny looked around her before sitting down on the piano stool and playing through the piece. She didn't recognise it but it sounded good. She was so absorbed in the music that she didn't hear the footfalls behind her.

Once she'd finished the piece, a voice from behind her said: 'That sounded good.'

Ginny sprang up off the piano stool and turned to face Tony Stark.

His dark hair was mussed up around his face and his brown eyes were like liquid reflected in the light streaming through the window. He was wearing a baggy t-shirt and jeans that were oil stained.

'Hey,' Ginny said softly.

'Hey,' Tony said smiling, 'miss me already huh?'

Ginny laughed and looked down at her shoes.

'I'm guessing you worked out who I was then, Jarvis said you knew who I was.'

Ginny nodded, 'I saw your picture in the paper.'

Tony sighed, 'they still not leaving me alone? What can I help you with then?'

'The coach broke down; I was wondering if you could… if I could borrow a phone.'

Tony grinned, 'you said "you could" first.'

'I didn't mean…'

'No, you did. And yes, I could fix the coach. Do you know what's wrong with it?'

Ginny looked at him, shocked. 'Yes… the engine has blown.'

Tony rubbed his hands together. 'I love engines, follow me.'

Ginny, feeling slightly confused, turned and followed Tony down a second set of stairs hidden underneath the spiralling version.

The room underneath was just as large as the foyer and it was filled with… garbage! At least that's what it looked like to Ginny. Metal parts that twisted and straightened covered the room. 3 vintage cars lined the wall; strange lit up screens were everywhere.

Tony seemed to be in his element. He grabbed a bag from under a messy desk and began piling things into it. Ginny stared until she felt a nudge on her shoulder, turning round; she jumped backwards almost immediately when she saw the large pincer reaching for her.

Tony looked up. 'Oh, that's just Dummy; you don't need to worry about him.'

Ginny stared; the pincer was attached to a metal tube that in turn was attached to a large base.

'Dummy?'

Tony straightened up and investigated the contents of his bag. 'Yeah, that's my nickname for him anyway. He's a robot; I made him for my robotics course at MIT.'

Dummy moved his pincher down to her hand, causing Ginny to step back again.

'He's just trying to shake your hand,' Tony said, pulling the bag onto his back.

Ginny hesitantly held one of Dummy's pinchers and nearly got her arm shook off by the enthusiastic robot.

'Nice to meet you, Dummy,' she said, feeling idiotic.

'Right,' Tony said, hitting Dummy affectionately (at least that's what it looked like to Ginny) on the head (if it was his head) and taking her arm. 'Let's go.'

* * *

When they reached the coach again (on the journey Tony had been describing everything that Dummy has done wrong, causing Ginny to laugh) it was still hot, and everyone automatically stared at him as Ginny giggled when Tony described how Dummy had once covered his father in foam.

The engine had stopped spewing out black smoke and the driver looked up at Ginny and Tony as they approached.

'Tony Stark, hi,' the driver said, clearly awed.

'Hi,' Tony said, 'I would shake your hand, but it's covered it oil.'

Ginny quickly checked her arm where he'd taken it. There was a large black mark.

Tony grinned. 'Sorry Ginny.'

Tony flicked open the catch on the engine and pulled a screwdriver out from his bag. He unscrewed the engine and took it out, turning it over in his hands. Clearly not satisfied, he put it down on the ground beside him and pulled another engine out of his bag. How it had fit in there was beyond Ginny, but it had got in there somehow and now Tony was screwing it back into the place where the old engine had been only moments before.

'Try it now,' Tony said to the coach driver, who stared for a moment before stepping back onto the coach and trying the keys.

The coach roared to life and spewed smoke out of the exhaust before settling down. Many of the passengers applauded.

Tony grinned at Ginny as everyone else got back onto the coach, Georgia still looking stunned. Tony waited until everyone else had got back on and then took a pen out of his pocket and (taking Ginny's hand) wrote a number on the back of her hand.

'In case you ever need anymore help,' he said, smiling.

Ginny examined her hand and then smiled at Tony. 'Thank you,' she said softly.

Tony grinned and helped her onto the step of the coach.

'You're very welcome, Ginny.'

Tony waved as the coach sped off again, and Ginny waved back until he was out of sight.


	4. Convincing Georgia

_I'm so sorry that this took so long to write!_

_And for anyone who's following it, I'm working on another chapter for 'Pepper For Your Thoughts' so keep an alert out!_

_Please review!_

_Btw- has anyone seen Sherlock Holmes (film)? I've seen it twice! I love it!_

Ginny had memorised his phone number.

It was a _complete _accident, she'd had no intention of memorising it, in fact she doubted she'd ever speak to him again; teenage girls getting their name's printed along with 'Stark' tended to find themselves open to… well, everything.

But it _was _an accident. She'd just looked at it too often. After she'd gotten back on the coach and they'd resumed their journey she'd gotten a lot of odd looks from the other passengers which she'd tried to ignore (after all, she'd managed to get Tony Stark to come back to personally fix the coach himself) so she'd looked down at the number on her hand, and when she looked up she could still see it hovering in the air in front of her eyes.

Open to everything.

Georgia was looking at her oddly, and eventually Ginny couldn't take it any more.

'What?' she said annoyed.

'So when did you meet Tony Stark?' Georgia said, raising her eyebrows. 'Because, seriously Ginny, getting him to help fix the coach? You must be *pretty* good friends.'

'Georgia!' Ginny yelled, then she lowered her voice again when a few of the passengers looked over.

'I told you,' she whispered angrily, 'I met him at Stark Industries when we went on that field trip, and then he was at that bar we went to last night.'

Georgia turned her head away so she was looking out the window.

'Is that why you ran out on me? Because Tony Stark is more important?'

'No,' Ginny said. 'It was just a shock to see him. Plus, I didn't know who he was.'

'You just told me you met him at Stark Industries.'

'I did, but he never told me his name.'

'Now you're not making sense!'

Ginny sighed, 'Georgia, listen! When I met him at Stark Industries, it was because I'd gotten lost; I had no idea where I was going. Then both of us came around the corner too fast and ran into each other. That's when I first met him, he didn't tell me his name though, he just said hi and showed me where to go. At the bar last night, I recognised him.'

'And he told you his name?'

'No, in fact he was surprised I didn't know it. He told me I'd know his name if I checked the news, then he left. When I got home I checked the paper and there was a picture of him and his parents in it, that's how I learnt his name.'

Georgia looked at her sceptically. 'Okay, fine, I believe you, but I wish you'd told me!'

'That I knew Tony Stark? Face it, Georgia; you wouldn't have believed me, anyway.'

Georgia looked down at the number on her hand. 'So… you gonna call him?'

'Absolutely not! I am not getting any more involved with Tony Stark then I already am!'

Georgia's eyebrows shot up, and too late Ginny realised her mistake.

'I mean, because I don't… I mean we're not, but I don't want people to _think… _oh shut up Georgia!' she said, elbowing her laughing friend.

'Okay! I'll prove that I'll never talk to him again!'

Ginny rummaged around in her bag until she pulled out a wet wipe, then she began to furiously scrub at her hand until the number was gone.

'There,' Ginny said, holding up her (red) pen-mark-free hand to Georgia, who looked shocked.

And when Ginny turned to look out to window, she saw the numbers flash in front of her eyes, and she realised that it was too late.


	5. Only A Phone Call Away

_Sorry this took so long to post! Please review!_

'OMG you are _so _lucky!' Molly Lau said, jumping up and down, her black hair swinging around her face.

'Yeah,' Georgia said, leaning back against the counter and looking at Ginny accusingly. 'And she _won't _call him.'

Molly looked shocked. 'What do you mean you won't call him? He's Tony Stark, Ginny!'

Ginny sighed. 'Yes, he is, which means that he isn't a person to get involved with. The Stark family are dangerous, if my mother knew…'

Georgia sighed, 'the point _is… _she doesn't know! And she doesn't have to! For heavens sake, Ginny, phone him already!'

Ginny waved her hand at her. 'The number has already gone,' she said.

Georgia looked heavenward, 'give me strength,' she muttered before turning back to Ginny.

'Virginia,' she said. 'We both know that you have a fantastic memory. Whether you like it or not, you've memorised the number.'

'No,' Ginny said stubbornly. 'I haven't.'

Georgia shrugged. 'Fine, be like that, but I guarantee you'll be thinking about him for the remainder of this trip.'

* * *

Tony put down the engine part he had in his hand and scrutinised the Hot Rod. Eventually he threw the part across the room and slumped down onto the couch. Fixing it on his own just made him feel depressed; the point was it was supposed to be a father-son thing. Tony hadn't been able to do many father-son activities with his father since he was always busy- courtesy of Stark Industries.

'Master Tony?'

Tony looked up towards the stairs, where Jarvis was stood. He glanced at the clock and realised it was well past midnight. 'Jarvis what are you still doing up?'

'I was waiting for you to retire yourself sir,' Jarvis said, making Tony feel guilty. 'But the phone rang. There is a Miss Ginny Potts on the phone for you sir.'

* * *

Ginny couldn't sleep that night. Whenever she tried, that number would flash in front of her eyes. _Damn _Georgia, trust her to figure out that Ginny would remember it.

Ginny sat up on the camp bed and evil-eyed the phone in the corner of the room.

_He won't be awake, Ginny; it must have gone midnight by now!_

Ginny rolled over again to try and get some more sleep, but that number flashed in front of her eyes again.

Groaning softly, Ginny rolled out of bed and grabbed the phone, then realised that Georgia and Molly would probably be able to hear her talking.

Ginny pushed the door open and crept down the stairs to the kitchen as quietly as possible.

The phone rang twice before it was answered. _'Stark residence, may I be of assistance?'_

Ginny swallowed and cleared her throat before speaking. 'Um… hi. I know it's late, my name is Ginny, we met earlier today.'

'_Ah! Miss Potts! Good evening, or good morning should I say?'_

'Yes, I'm sorry about calling so late, or early. I was wondering if I could speak to Tony Stark, if he isn't asleep, obviously.'

There was a soft chuckle from the other end of the phone. _'I wish he would get some sleep, the poor lad, I'll fetch him for you.'_

'Thank you.'

A few moments later, Tony's voice was heard on the phone. _'Hey Ginny.'_

'Tony, hi, I'm sorry for calling so late.' Ginny thought she heard the sound of a chair being drawn up on the other end of the line.

'_Really, it's not a problem; I could use some company right now.'_

'Oh, well that's good.'

'_So why are you calling so late? Not that I mind, I'm glad you did.'_

'Well… I couldn't sleep.'

'_Nightmares?'_

'No, my friends snore,' Ginny thought this was better than saying. _I think I may be obsessed with you, I hope you don't mind?_

'_Yeah, my roommate at MIT snored.'_

'What's it like at MIT?'

'_Pressurising. You have to be the best you can possibly be. If you're not… well it just isn't good enough. It's a lot of fun though.'_

Ginny eyed the stairs nervously for signs of movement. 'That isn't a problem for you, surely?'

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Ginny smiled, 'thought not.'

Tony chuckled. _'My roommate kept saying that.'_

'Who's your roommate?'

'_James Rhodes, he wants to be a pilot. How about you? What do you want to do?'_

He'd caught her off guard with the question, and Tony noticed.

'_Don't know? Fair enough.'_

'I guess you're all sorted,' Ginny said. 'CEO of Stark Industries and all that.'

'_I'm supposed to be, yeah.'_

'You sound like you don't want too.'

Over at the Stark Mansion, Tony eyed the picture of his parents on the opposite wall. 'I just wish that I had a choice in it, even though I'd probably have ended up running the company anyway.'

'_Surely you do have a choice? You don't have to, why don't you just let Stane carry on?'_

Tony glanced at the picture of Stane with his father. 'Obadiah freaks me out sometimes, he's too… well, he puts me in mind of a vulture circling its prey sometimes.'

'_Not nice imagery.' _Tony laughed, the girl sounded so… serious.

'Yeah, funny that isn't it? But hey! Why don't you come and work for me at Stark Industries when I take over?'

Ginny was thrown by this question, and was therefore unsure of how to respond. _I mean… it's better than working at… I don't know, _Target _or something._

'Actually, that's tempting,' Ginny said. 'But I don't think I'd be smart enough to work there.'

'_Sure you would! You could… I dunno, be my PA or something.'_

Ginny laughed, and then stopped suddenly as she remembered just who was upstairs.

'Well… maybe, but I think you'd drive me insane.'

Tony chuckled, _'more than likely.'_

Ginny heard a creek on the stairs above her head. 'I have to go, someone's coming.'

'_Call me again!'_

'I will, bye!'

Ginny hung the phone up and raced over to the sink just as Georgia stepped into the kitchen. 'Oh, hey Georgia,' Ginny said, running the tap.

'Hey Ginny, what are you doing down here?'

'Just getting a drink, you?'

Georgia looked around the kitchen. 'I thought I heard someone talking,' she said suspiciously.

'Yeah that was me, I was singing.'

Georgia raised an eyebrow. 'Right, okay.'

* * *

Tony looked sadly down at the phone in his hand and reluctantly hung it back up.

'Will you be going to sleep anytime soon, sir?' Jarvis asked.

Tony looked up at the elderly butler. 'No, I'll be down in the workshop for a bit longer, but you go to sleep now, you don't have to wait up for me.'

Jarvis sighed and sat down in the chair by the phone. 'I am not going to bed until you do, Master Tony. You need to sleep, you're not a machine.'

Tony groaned. 'Please not the guilt trip, Jarvis.'

'Is it working? Because I will wait up for you all night if I have too.'

Tony sighed. 'Fine, your emotional blackmail worked. Night, Jarvis.'

'Goodnight, sir,' Jarvis replied smugly, stepping upstairs.

Tony took one more longing look at the phone and then followed his butler.

* * *

Ginny laid back down on the camp bed and rolled over away from her two friends so, in case they were awake and looking, they couldn't see her face.

'_You could… I dunno, be my PA or something.'_

Ginny grinned as she wondered what her friends reactions would be to _that._


	6. Who Wants Ice Cream? Part 1

Sorry I haven't updated for a while, this is part 1 of this chapter, part 2 will hopefully be coming soon if my muse stops distracting me with plot bunnies!

_And thank you to XxThe Best Damn ThingxX for her cookies, they were very nice :)_

Ginny wiggled her toes under the cool water, bringing her foot up in order to splash Georgia.

The particular beach she was sat on ran along Long Island, the sun was high in the sky and Ginny had on her sun hat and sunglasses. Molly was laid out on a towel next to her reading a book and Georgia was eyeing up the large house above them.

'Do you think he's thinking about you?' Georgia asked suddenly.

'Who?' Ginny said, keeping her eyes down, knowing that the question didn't need clarification, there was only one person Georgia could be referring too.

Georgia clearly thought so too as she rolled her eyes and tipped her head back, allowing the sun to fall across her face.

'Tony Stark, obviously, who else could I have meant?'

Ginny ignored the last part of the question and turned her gaze to the house. 'I'm sure he has more important things to do rather than think about me,' she said, looking over at Molly who was still calmly reading her book.

Georgia was silent for a moment until she said, 'you phoned him a few nights ago, didn't you.' It was a statement not a question.

'When?' Ginny said, absentmindedly playing with her hair.

'When I caught you in the kitchen, remember? I told you I could hear voices, you said that you were singing.'

'Oh,' Ginny looked out over the water. 'Yeah, I did, didn't I?'

'Uh-huh,' Georgia said. 'So? You did call him didn't you?'

'Yeah I did,' Ginny said softly.

Georgia sighed and looked over at her friend. 'Ginny, I've known you for ever, you're my best friend! You can tell me anything, you know that! And it's clear that you like Tony more then you let on.'

Ginny flicked her hair over one shoulder. 'He's a _Stark, _Georgia!'

Georgia crossed her arms. 'He's an 18 year old boy who's just lost his parents. Regardless of what his surname is, I think he deserves to have someone to talk to.'

Ginny sighed, 'you're right. But he's a child protégée who graduated MIT summa cum laude and I'm a 16 year old who failed French!'

'Ginny! Everyone fails French! It's just the norm at our school because no-one can understand our teacher! I bet Tony Stark can't speak French.'

'Bet I can!' came an indignant voice from behind them.

* * *

Tony gazed out of his bedroom window at the Atlantic Ocean and the Long Island beach below the house.

He heard a door open and shut downstairs and heard voices. A few moments later, a familiar face stuck his head round the door.

'Hey, Tony,' Rhodey said uncertainly.

'Hey,' Tony said, turning away from his window. 'How're you?'

Rhodey shrugged, 'I think I should be asking you the same question.' Tony realised with a pang that the last time he'd seen Rhodey his parents had still been alive.

'I've been better,' Tony said quietly.

'I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the funeral, mate,' Rhodey said, sheepishly.

'Not your fault,' Tony said, turning his gaze back to the window. 'I'm just glad you could come up here.'

Rhodey stepped over to join him, 'It's not a problem, Tony,' he said. 'I'd rather spend time with you then listen to my mom moaning about pilot's fees.'

Tony chuckled, 'you should know by now that fees aren't a problem, Rhodey, if you want to go to a decent training facility it's no problem. I could even get you into Edward's if you wanted.'

Rhodey stared at the pale dark haired boy next to him. 'Really?' he asked, shocked.

'Uh-huh,' Tony said. 'Those guys owe Stark Industries a favour for the rest of their lives; I could easily get you in.'

Rhodey grinned, and then noticed just how pale his friend was. 'Tony,' he said accusingly, something which didn't go un-noticed by Tony, 'when did you last go out in the sun?'

Tony considered this, 'don't remember,' he said.

Rhodey looked up at the hot sun outside the window. 'Come on,' he said. 'We'll go down to the beach.'

Tony snorted. 'I can't go down there! I'll be mugged by teenage girls…'

_Ginny._

The name came to his mind so suddenly that he stopped abruptly mid sentence.

'Tony?' Rhodey said.

'It's just…' Tony's eyes glazed over. 'I met this girl, her name's Ginny. She's staying in New York for a bit with a friend.'

'When did you meet her?' Rhodey asked.

Tony sighed, 'I met her when her class had a field trip at Stark Industries, we ran into each other, literally.'

Rhodey shrugged. 'Wouldn't be the first teenage girl you've met,' he said slyly. Tony pulled a face at him. 'But she _is _the first teenage girl I've met who isn't all over me,' he said thoughtfully.

'Oh, come on,' Rhodey said. 'Don't tell me you've got the hots for this girl?'

Tony shrugged. 'I don't know Rhodes, I just miss her.'

Rhodey stared. 'Well… she must be something special because you've never missed a girl before as far as I know.'

Then he realised what was going on.

'Hey!' he said indignantly. 'No subject changes!'

Tony grinned lopsidedly. 'Ah well, worth a try.'

Rhodey folded his arms. 'Please don't tell me that you made that girl up.'

'No,' Tony said, turning away from the window and stretching. 'I didn't make her up, and I do miss her.'

'Well,' Rhodey said, 'maybe she'll be on the beach! Let's go.'

* * *

The three girls turned round. Tony Stark was stood behind them along with a black boy; both boys were wearing shorts and t-shirts.

Ginny wasn't sure what to say so she settled with: 'really?'

Tony shrugged, 'no, not really. I can speak Italian though, mind if we join you?'

Georgia smiled sweetly at him, 'not at all,' she said. 'I'm Georgia and this is Molly, from what I've heard you've already met Ginny.'

Ginny rolled her eyes behind Georgia's back and Tony grinned. 'This is Rhodey,' he said, motioning to his friend who waved at them.

'Your MIT roommate?' Ginny asked, remembering Tony saying on the phone that he had a roommate called James Rhodes who snored.

'That's the one,' Tony said, crashing out on the sand next to Ginny, Rhodey sitting next to him.

'I can't believe you were right,' Tony said, annoyed.

'Right about what?' Ginny said, confused.

'I told him that you'd probably be on this beach,' Rhodey said grinning.

Tony sighed, 'yeah… and now he isn't going to stop going on about it.'

Rhodey smirked.

'So,' Tony said, reaching into his short's pocket and digging up some change. 'Who wants ice cream?''


	7. Who Wants Ice Cream? Part 2

_This took forever to update and I am very VERY sorry :(_

_Also- I may have to update my stories on my homepage since FanFic is being rather slow atm, I will get them up ASAP though :)_

_My homepage URL is: .com/ Feel free to pop in and say hi!_

_PLEASE REVIEW! DON'T JUST FAVOURITE AND LEAVE ME HANGING! If you do favourite that is, and even if you don't please give me a review anyway :)_

The New York skyline was getting darker as the sun disappeared behind the waves, casting its fading rays out across the beach and turning the sky deep orange.

Tony shuffled the cards and dealt them out. It had got cold but the five of them hadn't noticed, too engrossed in each other's company. It had been Rhodey's idea to buy some playing cards from the newsagent along the pier and they had been playing for a good few hours, at that moment Tony was teaching them how to play a game his mom had showed him when he'd been bored out of his head at his cousin's one year. Ginny shivered despite herself as the game came to its hilarious conclusion and once the teenager's laughter had died away they considered what to do. 'It's going to get dark soon,' Tony said, eyeing the disappearing sun with something that seemed to be remorse. 'Maybe we should consider moving this inside. I know a great little cafe on the end of the pier?' This was greeted by murmurs of approval and the small group made their way along the pier, Ginny walking next to Tony and trying not to shiver. Tony gently took her hand and rubbed it between his own. 'Better?' he asked. Ginny smiled and tried to stay the giddy feelings that spread through her at Tony's touch. 'Much,' she said, smiling. Tony hesitantly put an arm around her shoulders and Ginny leaned into him, grateful for his warmth in her thin cotton dress. 'I was really glad when you called, you know,' Tony said, looking into her eyes.

'Why?'

Tony shrugged. 'I guess it just... took my mind off stuff.'

Ginny hesitated. 'I'm sorry to hear about your parents,' she said quietly. Tony looked away. 'Thanks,' he said quietly. Not another word was spoken until the reached _Seashell Side, _a small cosy looking cafe with sofas that were just _begging _to be dive bombed into.

Tony pushed open the door and held it open while Ginny, Molly and Georgia stepped inside. Rhodey waited until the girls had gone in and looked after Georgia's retreating figure. 'She's really nice,' he decided, following Tony in once he'd allowed the door to swing shut. 'I saw you and Ginny, by the way.'

'Yeah...' Tony said quietly. 'She's nice.'

'_Nice?' _Rhodey sighed and punched his friend playfully in the shoulder. 'I saw the way you looked at her; you think she's more than _nice.'_

'Can we drop it?' Tony said, glaring at Rhodey as the owner came up to them.

'_Anthony!' _The owner hugged Tony and smiled warmly at him. 'It's been too long, you never come here anymore!' The woman's name was Davina Mallow, she was a large, curvy lady in her 40s which wavy dark hair, kind eyes and a smile. Her smile faded as she remembered just _why_ Tony never came in anymore. 'I am so sorry to hear about Maria and Howard,' she said softly. Tony nodded, not looking up. 'Thank you,' he said quietly.

Davina looked over at the three girls waiting for the boys. 'And you've brought friends!' she said, her smile back in place. 'Wonderful, normal table, Tony?'

Tony nodded and went to stand by Ginny, gently placing his hand at the small of her back to guide her to the table. The cafe was warm and the sofas were as comfy as they looked. Ginny deliberately made sure she was sat next to Tony and stretched out in the sofa, smiling. 'Hot drinks?' Davina asked, coming over and brandishing a small notebook at them. 'Uh, yeah,' Tony said, trying not to notice just how close the sofas were to each other and Ginny's soft vanilla scent next to him. Rhodey shuffled the cards and dealt them out again onto the coffee table in front of them. 'Everyone know how to play Irish Snap?' he asked, grinning.

'The game that bruises your hand?' Georgia said, smiling. Rhodey nodded and Georgia's smile grew into a smirk. 'Then prepare to get your ass' kicked by me, Ginny and Molly, you're looking at the College champions.'

OOOOooooOOOOoooo

2 hours and very sore hands later in which, true to their word, Georgia, Molly and Ginny beat everyone, it was 10 o'clock and the team was ready to call it a night. 'Same time tomorrow?' Molly asked, smirking as she packed away the cards and handed them to Rhodey.

'Absolutely,' Rhodey said. Tony pulled a face. 'I have to go to SI tomorrow; Obi wants me to meet the new senior development team.'

'Will you be back at all?' Ginny asked quickly. Too quickly, Georgia glanced meaningfully at her, a glance which Tony didn't catch. 'I won't be back until 9,' he said sadly. 'I'll have to meet up with you the day after.'

'How about we all meet up the day after?' Ginny said, 'weren't we planning on going to the Empire State building tomorrow?'

Rhodey grinned. 'If you're doing that you ABSOLUTELY have to do it with Tony, he can get us all the way to the top.'

'Maybe if we just go shopping tomorrow, then Empire State the day after then,' Molly said. There were nods of agreement to this and the group trailed out of the cafe and onto the pier. Georgia smiled at the boys. 'It was nice meeting you down here,' she said. 'We'll see you day after tomorrow. Where shall we meet you?'

'How about at mine?' Tony said suddenly.

There was a pause at the three girls grinned. 'I like that idea,' Georgia said. 'Shall we say... 9 o'clock?'

Tony smiled. 'Perfect.'

OOOOooooOOOOoooo

Ginny was silent on the way back to Molly's, and Georgia picked up on it. 'I know how much you like Tony Stark,' she said quietly. 'It's obvious, and I honestly think that he feels the same way about you. Go for it, girl.'

OOOOooooOOOOoooo

'So... when's the wedding?' Tony pulled a face at Rhodey. 'Grow up, Rhodes.'

'Oh come on, man. It's obvious just how much you two like each other, just ask her out already.'

Tony sighed. 'I don't want to, because if she says _no _it will just be really awkward.'

Rhodey slapped his shoulder. 'There's only one way to a girl's heart mate.'

'What's that?'

'Pancakes.'


	8. Which Involves a Hatred of Pencils

_This has been sat on my hard drive covered in ridiculous quantities of dust for about 6 months but I've finally taken it out and given it a clean! So please review and let me know what you think :) And cookies to anyone who can spot the Doctor Who reference, it's fairly obvious._

_And thanks to thatpersonwhoisthatperson for telling me the distance between Long Island and Manhattan, Google was being epically unhelpful._

_Please review!_

'MORNING!' Georgia yelled ridiculously loudly, flinging open the curtains and making Ginny recoil in the harsh light of day.

'What time is it?' Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes.

'It's 7 o'clock and we are going shopping,' Molly said, bounding into the room with a truly humungous pile of croissants.

'Oh wow,' Georgia said, admiring the croissants. 'How do they even fit in your cupboard?'

'It's bigger on the inside,' Molly said seriously.

'Ginny come on! Up and get dressed!' Georgia exclaimed. 'We have some serious shopping to do for your big date tomorrow.'

'It's not a date!' Ginny moaned, dropping her head back onto the pillow.

'Yes it is and you have ten minutes to get ready or we are leaving without you.'

'I fail to see the downside,' Ginny smirked.

Georgia yanked the duvet off her. 'Up! Come on!'

'All right all right jeez I'm getting up!'

xXxXxXx

Tony was bored.

Really bored.

He was stuck in Stark Industries with the new senior development team Obie had handpicked who clearly did not have the first idea what they were talking about.

Tony slouched in his seat, wondering why exactly he had to listen to them and debating faking a faint just to get out of the room.

'… and that just about covers it,' Mr Monroe finished brightly, closing down the presentation on new designs for the Arc. 'Does anyone have any questions?'

Questions? Yes, Tony had about a billion and one, like _how the bloody hell did you get through college? _and _do you even have any qualifications? _but he kept his mouth shut and faked a smile.

'Well if that's everything I think we'll break for lunch,' Obadiah said, with a glance at Tony which clearly said _Do. Not. Move._

Once everyone had left the room Obie turned to Tony and said 'where you even paying the slightest bit of attention to what that man was saying?'

'Enough to know that if he implements this designs into the Arc it's going to explode and take half of New York down with it,' Tony said in a bored tone. 'Why did you even pick him? He clearly has no idea what he's talking about!'

'Anthony…' Obadiah said dangerously.

Tony snapped.

He had pretended to be nice, he had gone to this stupid meeting when he wanted to hang out with his new friends, he had pretended to pay attention, he had even saved half of New York and _now _Obadiah was calling him Anthony.

'Only my mother can call me Anthony,' Tony said dangerously. 'You are not my mother, you don't even come close so don't try it. I came to this stupid meeting, I paid attention, I tried to be concerned about this stupid company but I saw what it turned my father into and I don't want to go the same way!' He ended up yelling this last bit and turned and stormed out of the room, jumping in the lift to go down to the car park, muttering rude words under his breath about Obadiah as he went.

His father had become cold and calculating with no time for his son or his wife, Tony honestly could not remember a single moment with his father where he hadn't walked away feeling worse about himself. His father hadn't cared, Obadiah didn't either, they were only obsessed about the company.

_Well screw them._

Tony stuck the keys into the ignition of his renovated 1980 Suzuki motorcycle and gunned it out into the street, not slowing down till he got back home.

xXxXxXx

Meanwhile, after a ridiculously long 2 hour train ride, the trio had made it to the centre of Manhattan and Ginny was bored out her skull. Georgia and Molly were in their element, dashing from one stand to the other, trying to pretty revealing dresses and generally showing off their curves. The shops were busy and the prices horrendous and to top it all off it was really hot. Ginny fanned herself with her hand and pretended to be interested in the jewellery and sunglasses on display.

'Come _on, _Ginny!' Molly said. 'You have a date with Tony Stark! Find a pretty dress and show off those lovely legs of yours!'

'None of these dresses are appealing to me!' Ginny said. 'Plus, it's hardly a date, we're going to the top of the Empire State Building, it's going to be cold and windy.'

'But at least you'll look nice while your hair and skirt is blowing everywhere and you're freezing cold,' Georgia said winking.

Ginny looked around, feeling slightly bored when she spotted something blue out of the corner of her eye. Upon further investigation, Ginny discovered that the blue thing was in fact a beautiful plain blue summer dress decorated with lace and a small bow at the front, it was tasteful and not that expensive.

'Buy it,' Georgia said, looking at her with a serious poker face. 'Do it now, in fact go back in time, you should have already bought it.'

'It is nice,' Ginny said, contemplating it.

'Stop looking at it like you're trying to sum up a maths problem! Be spontaneous, buy the dress!' Molly said, throwing her arms up in the air in exasperation.

'Okay, okay, I'll buy the dress!' Ginny said, taking it off the rack and going to the till.

xXxXxXx

'Has the pencil done something to offend you, Master Tony?'

Tony looked bleary-eyed up from the blueprint he had been staring at to find Jarvis looking at him, eyebrow raised, a coffee mug in one hand.

'Sorry?'

'That pencil sir,' Jarvis said, pointing at the pencil Tony had in his hand. 'You were glaring at it.'

'I was?'

'Yes sir, in fact you looked furious.'

'Oh.' Tony let the pencil slip through his fingers and sat up, running a hand through his messy hair. 'I'm not mad at the pencil.'

Jarvis put the mug in front of Tony and sat next to him while he drained half of it in one go. 'What happened?'

Tony sighed and dropped his head into his hands. 'It's Obie.'

Jarvis nodded. 'I thought it would be, your father used to wear that exact same expression whenever he was annoyed with Obie.'

Tony smiled, 'I remember it. Well today he not only dragged me into a meeting with a guy my father would never have hired in a million years, he then had the nerve to call me Anthony.'

Jarvis winched. 'I imagine you had a witty retort?'

'Yep,' Tony said, finishing off the coffee. 'And now he's probably going to be mad at me, not that I care. You should have heard the guy in the meeting! He sucked! Obie is trying to drag this company down I swear.'

Jarvis smiled, well used to Tony's black moods. 'Obadiah was your father's business partner, I doubt Mr Stark would have put him in charge if he didn't trust him? And the board is more interested in you than Mr Stane. They want you to become the new CEO. Obadiah has the business know-how but he lacks… the brains to keep the company going.'

Tony looked up at Jarvis and smiled half-heartedly. 'I don't want dad's company, I never wanted it.'

'Tony,' Jarvis said seriously. 'You could make your father's company great again, you could renovate it, create smarter weapons, advanced robotics, you could get the company's stocks higher then they've ever been.'

'I'm not dad, I can't run a company,' Tony sighed.

'You don't have to, not at first anyway. Mr Stane can run it, you can watch and see how he does it. You will be in charge of inventions, Tony.'

Tony looked up at him. 'You really think I can do it? Improve my dad's company?'

'I know you can,' Jarvis said, smiling. 'I've taken care of you since you were a little boy and you are a genius: always have been, always will be, so much smarter than your father. If anyone can do it, it's you.'

'I doubt the board will let a 18 year old take over.'

'18, I doubt it, 21, more than likely. You just have to wait a few years and keep coming up with designs to win the board over. Stark Industries is your right, Tony.'

Tony looked up at Jarvis and grinned. 'You're right. And when I'm CEO I can hire my _own _team, people that actually know what they're doing.'

Jarvis smiled, that was the Tony he knew.

'Stark Industries aside, I understand you're having friends over for breakfast tomorrow?'

'Oh yeah…'

* * *

_Please review!_


	9. It Must Be Love

_AAAAAHHH I HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR AAAAAGES I'M SORRY I SUCK SO BAD! The ironic thing about this chapter is I actually seriously hate pancakes. Every pancake day I hide in my room to escape them._

_Anyway, PLEASE review! And some of you have noticed that I'm updating all my old neglected stories, which means there will soon be an update for 'Pepper For Your Thoughts…'_

_And on that bombshell…_

_PLEASE REVIEW! _

* * *

'TONY!'

Tony jerked awake, bolting upright and regretting it immediately as the back of his neck ached from the hunched over-the-keyboard position he'd been sleeping in.

In front of him, Rhodey tapped his foot and crossed his arms. 'You do realise the girls will be coming over in half an hour, right?' he said, accusingly.

Tony yawned.

'Get your ass in the shower,' Rhodey said. 'I'll get the pancakes on.'

'What is it with you and pancakes?' Tony said, standing up and stretching. 'When we were at MIT all you'd eat were bloody pancakes.'

'I just like pancakes,' Rhodey said. 'Deal with it.'

**XxXxXxX**

Meanwhile, Molly, Ginny and Georgia had been ready for hours. Ginny especially, who hadn't been able to sleep and had got up at 5 to have a really long really hot shower and sort out her hair.

The weather outside was beautiful, clear blue sky and a warm sun. Ginny straightened her new dress and patted her hair. She'd decided against having it down, and had tied it up instead. There was nothing attractive about having hair blowing in your face in all directions.

The three piled on the bus and Ginny started to get butterflies in her stomach.

'What's wrong with you?' Georgia said, sighing. 'You've already been to his house.'

'That was unexpected though!' Ginny protested. 'This isn't! It kind of feels like… like a date.'

'Because it _is _a date,' Molly said. 'And I'm really excited about seeing the inside of Tony's house. Is it lovely?'

Ginny nodded. 'It's gorgeous,' she admitted. 'But I did get the impression that Tony wanted to get out of it.'

'I don't blame him,' Georgia said, pulling out her compact mirror and checking her makeup. 'I expect it reminds him of his parents too much.'

'His parents house where he grew up with his parents reminds him of his parents too much?' Molly said, raising an eyebrow. 'Yes, I expect it does.'

'Okay, this is our stop,' Ginny said, as the bus pulled up at a bus stop. 'It's about a fifteen minute walk to the house.'

The three piled off and made their way along the road that ran parallel to the sea. The luscious blue calmed Ginny's nerves somewhat and she relaxed and actually started to look forward to seeing Tony and Rhodey.

Well, that is until Georgia announced: 'So, do you think you're going to snog him today then?'

Then the butterflies came back.

**XxXxXxX**

Tony had had one of the fastest showers known to man and was now helping Rhodey flip pancakes in the kitchen, wearing a light green shirt and brown shorts.

'We've got syrup, chocolate spread, squirty cream, strawberry cream, actual strawberries, ridiculous amounts of fruit and a lot of jam,' Tony said, checking the cupboards. 'Do you think that will be enough?'

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him. 'Yes, I expect so,' he said.

The doorbell rang and Tony exhaled.

Rhodey stared at him. 'Tony Stark, are you actually _nervous?' _he asked, shocked.

Tony pulled a face at him and went to answer the door.

'Morning ladies,' he said, grinning at the 3 of them.

'Morning, Tony,' Georgia said, brazingly kissing him on the cheek then strolling past him into the house, ooh-ing and aah-ing, Molly following suit.

'Hi, Ginny,' Tony said, smiling at her. 'You look lovely.'

Ginny flushed the colour of her hair. 'As do you, very dapper,' she said.

'Shall we?' Tony said, holding the door open and giving a sweeping motion with his hand.

Ginny laughed and walked in, following him into the kitchen, where Rhodey was piling all the pancakes onto one massive plate.

'This looks amazing,' Molly said, sliding onto a bar stool.

'Rhodey has a thing about pancakes,' Tony said, shrugging and pulling a chair out for Ginny. Molly noticed the gesture and winked at her.

'Will you let that go?' Rhodey said, joining them at the table. 'I just like pancakes, okay!'

Tony chuckled and sat next to Ginny, Rhodey on his other side.

'Well, we've got loads of toppings, so dig in,' Tony said.

Ginny covered her pancakes in chocolate spread, Tony looked surprised. 'Chocolate?' he said. 'I thought you'd be a strawberry kind of girl.'

'I'm allergic,' Ginny said. 'But I like the idea of strawberries.'

'I just like strawberries,' Molly said with her mouth full of them.

'So then,' Georgia said once they'd finished eating and Tony and Rhodey had swept the plates into the dishwasher. 'What's the plan for today?'

'Well, I have a convertible downstairs which is begging for a road trip,' Tony said, grinning. 'And I know this great little restaurant that does amazing Italian stuff, their lasagne is the best.'

'Sounds perfect!' Molly said, excitedly. 'I've never been in a convertible before.'

The five of them trailed downstairs into the garage and Georgia burst out laughing. 'It's like Frankenstein's laboratory down here!' she exclaimed. 'You're not hiding a monster anywhere are you?'

Tony pretended to look worried and grabbed the car keys off a desktop. 'I seriously hope not,' he said, eyeing up the workshop as though something was about to jump out at them.

Dum-E tapped Molly on the shoulder and she screamed.

**XxXxXxX**

Once Georgia and Ginny had calmed Molly down and Dum-E had looked remorseful the five of them piled into the car. There was no question as to who was calling shotgun, everyone else immediately went for the back seat leaving Ginny the front. The car revved to life and Tony pulled out onto the Long Island highway, zooming along into the centre. Ginny pulled her sunglasses on and relaxed, pleased to find the butterflies had gone and she was actually starting to enjoy herself.

'So, what's new for Stark Industries?' Molly asked.

'World domination,' Tony replied.

Georgia laughed. 'Seriously?'

'If Obie has anything to do with it I wouldn't be surprised,' Tony said, grinning.

The car pulled into the car park of the Empire State and Tony jumped out, holding the door open for Ginny like a mock chauffeur.

'Thank you, Mr Stark,' Ginny said, grinning.

Tony nodded his head at her. 'You're welcome, Miss Potts.'

The group headed into the building and Tony flashed a pass card against a sensor on the lift, and the lift started to go up and up and up and up, eventually emerging onto the top of the building, where the sun was shining brightly in the sky and New York stretched for miles.

'This is amazing!' Ginny said, eyes full of wonder. 'The view! Please tell me Stark Industries is planning to build a new office block here.'

Tony stroked his imaginary beard. 'Well another office would help in our plan for world domination,' he agreed.

Once the girls had taken enough photos of the view and there had been a discussion on what would happen when Stark Industries took over the world (_'No more homework, free cheesecake, strawberry substitutes, to name a few.')_, it was four o'clock and the group were starting to get hungry so they trailed down to the Italian restaurant Tony had mentioned earlier.

It was lovely and warm inside and Ginny was starting to get a warm feeling spreading through her every time she looked at Tony. Was this… _love? _

_Don't be daft, you haven't known him that long._

Ginny remembered what her mother had told her a while ago. _'Everyone has a soul mate out there for them, and trust me, you will know when you find them.) _(A.N. My mum's words of wisdom to me, believe it people!) Whenever she was with Tony, she felt like she was completely herself, completely happy. She smiled broadly at him and Tony grinned back. Ginny felt her knees wobble, he had the most _amazing _smile.

'Okay, guys, dinner's on me,' Tony said, sitting next to Ginny and squeezing her hand under the table.

The drive back to the house didn't seem so long and Ginny and Tony talked for the entire thing, about work, about their lives, about the future.

When Tony pulled up outside their house, Ginny felt like crying, she didn't want the night to end.

In the back, Georgia and Molly had been bending Rhodey's ear over Molly's father's model plane collection which Rhodey was dying to see so they all ran into the house, leaving Ginny and Tony alone.

'I had a really great time,' Tony said. 'I love spending time with you.'

Ginny noticed he said _you _not _you guys._

'I love spending time with you too,' she whispered.

Tony took her hands. 'You're an amazing girl, Ginny,' he said. 'And when you go back, I'd still love to see you.'

'Me too,' Ginny said, not noticing how close they were getting until their faces were right next to each other and she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

'Tony,' she whispered.

'Yes?' Tony said.

'I think… I love you,' Ginny said, then cringed inwardly. What a stupid thing to say!

'I think I love you too,' Tony said, then leaned down and kissed her.

Ginny melted into him, he tasted so good and was such a _great _kisser. She could vaguely hear cheering and whooping coming from the house but she ignored it and wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes and savouring the moment.

But, as is it even with the most perfect of moments, they have to end and when Ginny pulled away from him his eyes were shining.

'Come on Tone,' Rhodey said, slapping him on the shoulder. 'You have a meeting tomorrow morning and I need to teach you how to speak "plane" to these aviation guys.'

'I'll see you soon,' Tony said, looking at Ginny and grinning broadly from ear to ear.

'Absolutely,' Ginny said, grinning back at him.

Tony kissed her again quickly and was then dragged back to the car by Rhodey.

'How about tomorrow evening?' Tony said, as he was dragged away. 'Movie night? I'll come pick you up.'

'Sounds amazing!' Georgia yelled, grinning at Ginny who was slightly dumbstruck.

Tony laughed and pulled away from the house.

Georgia and Molly turned to Ginny expectantly. 'Well?' Georgia demanded.

'He said he loved me!' Ginny yelled, so loudly Tony and Rhodey could probably hear her.

'Let's celebrate with waffles!' Molly yelled, and the three of them ran excitedly into the house.

* * *

_PLEASE REVIEW! :D :)_


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